2003-08 Community

A newsletter for the faculty and staff of the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University August 2003
prepared by Glenda Isaacs Burgeson
Community editor
and Jo Shroyer
CSB director of communication
Communication and Marketing Services
Amid the post-war rubble of human destruction in the for-mer
Yugoslavia, amid the grim reminders of human suffering
and cruelty, maybe humor helps dull the pain. The group of
CSB/SJU faculty who
toured the region May 24
through June 5 nicknamed
their driver “Rambo.”
Noreen Herzfeld, CSB/
SJU professor of computer
science, recalled the
humor that bonded her
and her fellow travelers
with their driver and inter-preter
during the tour. The
humor helped balance, in
some small measure, the
devastation and loss they
encountered, she said.
Herzfeld was part of a
CSB/SJU faculty develop-ment
team that toured
post-war areas in Bosnia
— Sarajevo, Banja Luka,
Tuzla and Srebrenica —
along with visits to Zagreb
and Belgrade. Led by Nick
Hayes, professor of histo-ry
and holder of the
University Chair of Critical Thinking, the tour was funded with
a $25,000 gift from Dan Whalen, vice chair of the Saint John’s
Board of Regents and 1970 SJU graduate.
The purpose of the initiative was to grant selected faculty
the opportunity to explore global issues of conflict, human
rights and international intervention within a specific histori-cal
and cultural context and thereby enrich the classroom
experience across the curriculum.
For Herzfeld, the tour was a chance to look at Islam in a
Western culture. In addition to her teaching assignments in
computer science, she also teaches the spirituality of Islam.
“It’s easy for our students to associate Islam with the Middle
East,” Herzfeld said. She explained that she wanted to gain a
sense of that faith tradition within a Western society. She also
wanted to explore the possibility for peace and reconciliation
and she has since written an article, “Religious Nationalism and
Western Intervention: A Letter from the Balkans,” that has been
accepted for publication by Christian Centuries.
Based on her inter-views,
she believes the
immediate prospects for
reconciliation are re-mote;
the feelings of the
people she met are still
too raw. In some in-stances,
people are still
searching for the graves
of loved ones.
“They have a long way
to go. Everyone we talked
with speaks of the need to
forgive. Some are more
hesitant. They say, ‘I’ll for-give;
but I’ll never forget.’
“The pain, fear and mis-trust
are very much alive
in people and for very
good reason,” Herzfeld
said. Only recently, anoth-er
mass grave was discov-ered,
she said.
Herzfeld spoke of
“shells of houses that dot
the countryside,” of an entire village destroyed and of an inter-view
with a woman, the first Muslim to return to her neighbor-hood,
who had lost her husband and two sons in a massacre.
She spoke of the sheer intensity of the visit. “It was extraor-dinary.
I hardly slept — two or three hours a night.”
The range of human emotion was not limited to the tragic.
Juxtaposed with the images of horror she recalled, Herzfeld
(See Bosnia, Page 7)
Faculty Group Seeks Understanding,
Gains Insights from Bosnia
From left: Jim Read, Noreen Herzfeld, Martina Talic — a CSB student from
Bosnia, Manju Parikh, Christina Tourino and Nick Hayes.
Dr. Carol Guardo Assumes
Her Role as President of CSB
prepared by Jo Shroyer
CSB director of communication
Communication and Marketing Services
On July 1 Dr. Carol Guardo, the College of Saint
Benedict’s new president, assumed her duties in a
one-year appointment. She replaced Dr. Mary Lyons,
who is now the presi-dent
of the University
of San Diego in
California. The presi-dential
search com-mittee,
chaired by
CSB Board Chair Sue
Lester, has begun its
mission to find a long-term
president for the
college. (See “CSB
Presidential Search
Committee Announced,” at right.)
Guardo says she is settling in comfortably and has
been welcomed warmly by the campus community.
“In that true College of Saint Benedict spirit,” she
said. Guardo knows CSB and SJU well, having come
here often in the past 10 years to assist college and
university leadership in the evolution of the coordi-nate
mission. Her familiarity with the CSB/SJU com-munity
makes her ideally suited to oversee this
important transition for CSB.
“It is immensely helpful to know a lot of people and
to understand the partnership with Saint John’s,”
Guardo says. “For someone who doesn’t have that
knowledge, it’s a lot to learn,” she explains.
“Furthermore, I have the advantage of knowing Br.
Dietrich well, so there is already an established rela-tionship
between us. That makes stepping into this role
much easier.” Because of her fondness for the commu-nity,
Guardo welcomed this opportunity to return and
engage in the mission of the institutions.
Throughout her career in higher education,
Guardo has served as dean and provost for institu-tions
of higher education. She has been president of
Rhode Island College in Providence and president of
the Great Lakes College Association, a consortium of
12 selective liberal arts colleges in Michigan, Indiana
and Ohio. She also has 20 years of experience as a
trustee of Catholic colleges.
Guardo has held academic administrative posi-tions
in secular universities with such professional
areas as business, education, pharmacy and engineer-ing.
“In this way I acquired many different ways of
looking at the world, because each of these profes-sional
areas have their own ways of analysis, synthe-sis
and examination,” she said, noting that she is, her-self,
by nature, an analytical person. “I have enjoyed
being able to have intelligent discourse with people in
all those professional areas and have learned that
they are as strongly dedicated to the liberal arts as we
are. It has been an excellent educational experience
for me and I have been enriched by it.”
A deep commitment to the liberal arts has been
another important factor in Guardo’s willingness to
accept this post. “I have been well-served by the lib-eral
arts,” she said, beginning, she noted, with her
undergraduate education at a Catholic liberal arts
women’s college. “Throughout my career I have been
a champion of such an education,” she explained. “It
provides you modes of thinking, analyzing and syn-thesizing,
giving you the ability to engage with the
world and your own experiences. It fosters the devel-opment
of critical thinking skills and offers a frame of
reference for making sense of the world. Moreover, it
gives you the ability to learn what you need to learn.”
The CSB president’s charge for the coming year,
Guardo explains, is to carry on the work of the col-lege
and advance the strategic agenda for the college
and the coordinate relationship. She intends to serve
as a translator of the coordinate relationship for the
incoming president and bring clarity to a unique situ-ation.
“I am willing to be helpful in every way that I
can” she concluded. While here Guardo will be
instrumental in advancing the vital partnerships
between the monastery and the college. “These cam-puses
are so incredibly lucky to have the vibrant
communities of the monastery and the abbey here. I
very much want to make sure that the distinctive
Benedictine character remains alive and well during
this time of transition and beyond.”
Coleman Named as SJU
Vice President For Finance
and Administration
Carole T. Coleman has been named vice presi-dent
for finance and administration at SJU. Prior to
her appointment, effective July 1, she had served
since 1996 as execu-tive
vice president
and chief financial
officer at Wheeling
Jesuit University in
Wheeling, W.Va.
Coleman is an
experienced adminis-trator
with a 19-year
career in higher edu-cation
at a Catholic
institution including
positions at Wheeling as director of business opera-tions
and director of financial administration. She
holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration
and a master’s in business administration from
Wheeling.
Campus News
CSB Presidential Search
Committee Announced
The Executive Committee of the
CSB Board of Trustees recently
announced the mission and the
membership of the presidential
search committee. The committee,
under the leadership of the board
of trustees chair Susan Lester, is
charged with recommending to the
Trustees, no later than February
2004, an unranked list of three to
five individuals who, in the commit-tee’s
judgement, are well qualified
to lead CSB as its next president.
The committee will conduct a full
national search to attract a well-qualified
and diverse pool of candi-dates,
Lester said. With the assis-tance
of a search consultant,
Academic Search Consultation
Service, the committee will devise,
organize and implement the entire
search process. The following were
named to the committee:
Susan Lester, trustee, search
committee chair
Ed Kocourek, trustee
Janet Fiola, trustee
Harvey Jewett, trustee
S. Emmanuel Renner, OSB,
trustee
Dr. Janet Hope, faculty
Dr. Richard White, faculty
S. Christian Morris, OSB, Saint
Benedict’s Monastery
Iris Cornelius, regent, SJU
Jon McGee, Coordinate Cabinet
Beverly Radaich, CSB staff
Shelly Bauerly Kopel, CSB
alumna
Kate Schmucker, CSB student
CSB 2 SJU
Dr. Carol Guardo
Carole T. Coleman
In announcing her appointment, SJU president
Br. Dietrich Reinhart cited not only her strong finan-cial
background but her firm belief in the impor-tance
of education for life, leadership and service.
Grand Master to Receive
Honorary Degree from SJU
His Most Eminent Highness Frà Andrew Bertie,
Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,
will receive an honorary doctorate from SJU on Sunday
evening, Oct. 12.
In making the
announcement, SJU
president Br. Dietrich
Reinhart, OSB cited
the longstanding rela-tionship
between the
Knights of Malta and
the Benedictines,
which can be traced
back to the 12th centu-ry.
This relationship
continues today through Frà Bertie’s Benedictine edu-cation
and teaching career. More recently, through the
work of the Malta Study Center of the Hill Monastic
Manuscript Library, the Benedictine monks of Saint
John’s Abbey have sponsored the preservation and
filming of the archives of the Knights of Malta, housed
in the National Library of Malta in Valletta. The con-ferral
of the degree also commemorates the 30th
anniversary of this Malta filming project.
Founded in the late 11th century, the Order of Malta
has been dedicated to the medical care of pilgrims and
the sick with hospitals first in Jerusalem, then in
Rhodes and finally in Malta. Presently, the Order main-tains
its mission in the field of medical and social care
and humanitarian aid with dispensaries, hospitals and
relief services to people in the Middle East, Europe,
North America and South America. Today, it is a sover-eign
entity that maintains diplomatic relationships with
92 nations. The Order numbers some 10,000 members
who commit themselves to prayer and service to the
sick and the poor around the world.
Frà Bertie is of Scottish descent and was educat-ed
at the Benedictine school of Ampleforth Abbey
in Yorkshire, England. For 23 years, he taught mod-ern
languages at the school conducted by the
Benedictine monks of Worth Abbey in Sussex. He
was admitted to the Sovereign Military Order of
Malta in 1956, and, in 1981, he took vows as a fully
professed member of the Order. In 1988, he was
elected the 78th Grand Master. As the Grand Master,
Frà Bertie serves for life and is elected from among
the professed Knights of the Order.
The Malta Study Center of the Hill Monastic
Manuscript Library was established in 1973, with
the mission to preserve and make accessible
archival materials related to the history of the island
of Malta and the Knights of Malta. The goals of the
Malta Study Center are to foster in the United States
the study of the military and hospitaller religious
orders and to generate awareness of the island of
Malta’s unique role in the Mediterranean history.
In close cooperation with the government of
Malta, with the National Library in Valletta and with
the Cathedral Museum in Mdina, the Center assem-bled
and maintains a microfilm collection of more
than 16,000 documents and dossiers of documents
from Malta, covering the period of the 12th to the 20th
century. The materials include the Archives of the
Knights of Malta, the Cathedral Museum in Mdina, the
Archives of the Inquisition, ecclesiastical records of
the dioceses of Malta and Gozo and musical compo-sitions.
This is the largest collection of Maltese
archival materials available outside the island. The
Center also contains one of the most extensive
libraries in the United States of antiquarian and mod-ern
publications dealing with Malta’s history, litera-ture
and culture, as well as materials pertaining to the
Knights of St. John and the history of the Crusades.
CSB Appoints New Hockey Coach
David Laliberte has been named head ice hockey
coach at CSB. A native of Wausau, Wis., Laliberte is
a 2000 SJU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in
social science, with
minors in secondary
education, history
and coaching.
Athletic Director
Carol Howe-Veenstra
is excited about the
addition of Laliberte
to the Blazer staff.
“Dave is an alum of
SJU and I love the
fact that he has spent
time on campus. He has an appreciation for Blazer
athletics and has clearly identified with the values
of the educational and developmental experience
here.” Howe-Veenstra is also pleased with
Laliberte’s work ethic. “He is organized, with great
communication skills and exhibits a high level of
professionalism. I’m excited to work with him.”
Laliberte comes to the Blazers from Woodbury
High School, where he was a social studies teacher
and head girls hockey coach from 2000-03. Prior to
that, he served as assistant varsity hockey coach for
the St. Cloud Icebreakers from 1998-2000. In addi-tion,
he has served as a clinician at numerous hock-ey
camps in the state of Minnesota.
Campus News
Clemens Lecture Announced
Harvard economist Professor
Michael Kremer will deliver the
2003 Clemens Lecture at 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11 in the Stephen
B. Humphrey Auditorium on the
SJU campus. His address is titled
“New Approaches to U.S. policy in
the Developing World: Addressing
Neglected Diseases and Odious
Debts.”
Kremer has earned a reputation
for unconventional approaches to
persistent economic and social
problems. For example, he has
proposed formally warning banks
that debts contracted by non-dem-ocratic
regimes would not need to
be repaid by successor govern-ments,
leading banks to either
raise interest rates for such
regimes to cover the increased risk
of default or to not lend at all.
As always, the Clemens Lecture
is designed for general audiences;
students will understand what
Kremer has to say.
Two Assistant Coaches
Join CSB Volleyball
Heather Evans and Paige Karno
have joined the Blazer volleyball
team this fall as assistant coaches.
Evans has been the student
assistant coach at Division II North
Dakota State University. She is a
2003 NDSU graduate with a bach-elor’s
degree in human perform-ance
and fitness. She was a four-year
letter winner at NDSU, where
she earned honorable mention in
the conference and All-NCC 1st
team in 2001.
Karno has experience in coaching
at all levels. She was the club direc-tor
for the Sartell Junior Olympic
Volleyball Program and has also
served as head coach for the Junior
Olympic Team. Karno played her col-lege
volleyball at Southwest State,
where she holds records in career
kills, career digs and single-season
digs. She was also a two-time all-conference
pick at Southwest State.
CSB 3 SJU
David Laliberte
Frà Andrew Bertie
CSB/SJU Faculty Honored
CSB/SJU faculty members were honored in May
at the Academic Affairs awards ceremony.
Manuel Campos, associate professor of biology,
received the S. Mary Grell Teacher of Distinction
Award.
S. Mary Grell, a noted biologist, served students
for more than 35 years with intelligence, skill, dedi-cation
and genuine affection for them. The differ-ence
S. Mary made in her lifetime of teaching at
Saint Benedict is celebrated through the recognition
each year of a faculty member who represents the
best of teaching and learning at CSB/SJU.
Campos views teaching and learning as interde-pendent
events with teaching being also an ongoing
dedication to learning, a willingness to always
remain a student. He believes that only through his
own continuing search for knowledge is he able to
keep up with the ever-changing face of science and
convey to students his own excitement and interest
in the field. His research has led to his active partic-ipation
in summer undergraduate research for stu-dents.
Campos’ collaboration and collegiality is evident
in his support of the academic community. Many of
his colleagues know of his quiet hard work and the
energy he invests in tasks or projects that go
beyond his own scholarly and professional interests
to benefit the larger community.
Michael Livingston, associate professor of psy-chology,
received the SJU Robert L. Spaeth Teacher
of Distinction Award.
The award is named in honor of Spaeth, who
died in 1994. He served as dean of the college at SJU
for nine years in addition to offering lengthy terms
of service as professor of liberal studies and direc-tor
of freshman symposium. Each year, Spaeth’s
commitment to excellent teaching is remembered
by honoring a faculty member who brings a special
passion and mastery to the classroom and the learn-ing
community.
Livingston has been an active scholar, with more
than 60 publications to his credit and more than 20
professional papers and presentations. He is active
both within his professional field of psychology and
with the American Association of University
Professors (AAUP), which he serves as vice presi-dent
of the Minnesota Conference of the AAUP and
as editor of the Minnesota Academe, the organiza-tion’s
newsletter.
It is Livingston’s dedication and success in teach-ing,
however, that is recognized and celebrated with
the Spaeth Award. Many students have completed
internships, externships, individual learning proj-ects,
senior research projects and honors theses
under his supervision and direction. Livingston is
sought out by students for both his classes and for
experiential learning experiences.
Daniel Steck, pro-fessor
of physics,
received the CSB/SJU
Te a c h e r- S c h o l a r
Award.
This award is
given annually to a
faculty member who
exemplifies demon-strated
excellence in
scholarship as well as
teaching, conducts
student/faculty collaborative research or creative
work and excels in the mentoring of students.
This past summer marked Steck’s 22nd consecu-tive
year collaborating on research with CSB/SJU
students. Beyond the impressive number of years
his commitment represents, Steck has served as an
exceptional role model for aspiring scientists.
Steck’s research — notably his investigations in
radon gas exposure and lung cancer — is impres-sive
and substantial. He served as associate editor
of Health Physics from 1993-96 and has approxi-mately
50 publications to his credit in journals and
reviewed papers. He has received the Clean Air
Research Award from the American Lung
Association, as well as the Young Investigator
Award Indoor Air. He has been awarded 14 external
grants for radon-related research and is the recipi-ent
of 20 faculty research grants from CSB/SJU. He
is a recognized expert in his field, and his work has
brought honor and better health to the greater com-munity.
Advising awards were presented to: Matt
Callahan, cross divisional, symposium; S. Dennis
Frandrup, fine arts, professor of art; Fr. Rene
McGraw, humanities, associate professor of philos-ophy;
Elizabeth Wurdak, natural science, associate
professor of biology; and Janet Hope, social sci-ence,
associate professor of sociology.
The following tenure awards, appointments and
promotions were announced.
Tenure and promotion to associate professor:
Manuel Campos, biology; Chris Freeman, English;
Bill Lamberts, biology; Br. Doug Mullin, education;
and Greg Schroeder, history.
Campus News
Fadiman to Speak at SJU
Award-winning author Anne
Fadiman will speak at 8 p.m. Sept.
22 in the SJU Pellegrene
Auditorium, Science Center. Her
lecture is the fifth in the lecture
series, “Ethical Thinking in Global
Times.”
Fadiman is the editor of The
American Scholar and author of
The Spirit Catches You and You
Fall Down and Ex Libris:
Confessions of a Common Reader.
A recipient of a National Magazine
Award for Reporting, she has writ-ten
for Civilization, Harper’s, Life
and The New York Times.
Her campus visit is sponsored by
the University Chair in Critical
Thinking, the Schirber Lecture
Series and the Asian Studies
Learning Community. Her visit will
include a reception, dinner and dia-log
with the faculty and community.
Her public lecture will address
the making and themes of The
Spirit Catches You and You Fall
Down, an account of the tragic
encounter of the Hmong communi-ty
with the American medical sys-tem.
For information about her pro-gram
and opportunities for stu-dents,
faculty and staff, contact
Norma Koetter at #2770.
CSB 4 SJU
Manuel Campos (left) and Michael Livingston.
Daniel Steck
Tenure and promotion to professor: Larry Davis,
geology and biology; and Laura Rodgers, nursing.
Promotion to associate professor: Richard
Albares, sociology.
Promotion to professor: Charles Bobertz, theolo-gy;
Noreen Herzfeld, computer science; and Elena
Sanchez-Mora, modern and classical languages.
Appointment of professor emeritus: Shobha
Deshmukh-Gill, mathematics; Fr. Roger Kasprick,
theology; Kerry Lafferty, theater; Jerry Lenz, mathe-matics;
and Tony Sorem, psychology.
Also recognized for their service were the
following:
Outgoing department chairs: Dave Bennetts, pro-fessor
of history; Phil Byrne, professor of mathe-matics;
Margaret Cook, professor of modern and
classical languages; S. Dennis Frandrup, professor
of art; Ozzie Mayers, professor of English; Br. Doug
Mullin, associate professor of education; Jamie
Partridge, assistant professor of management; and
Fr. Bruce Wollmering, associate professor of
psychology.
Service as acting department chair: Wendy
Klepetar, professor of management; and John
Merkle, professor of theology.
Service as joint faculty assembly chair: Jennifer
Galovich, associate professor of mathematics.
Service as core director: Kaarin Johnston, pro-fessor
of theater.
Service as dean, college of arts and sciences:
Cheryl Knox.
Ten years of service: Charles Bobertz, professor
of theology; Jose Antonio Fabres, associate profes-sor
of modern and classical languages; Fr. Kevin
Seasoltz, professor of theology; and Joyce Simones,
associate professor of nursing.
Fifteen years of service: Shobha Deshmukh-Gill,
associate professor of mathematics; Karen
Erickson, professor of modern and classical lan-guages;
Carolyn Finley, associate professor of
music; Henry Jakubowski, professor of chemistry;
Janet Neuwirth, associate professor of nursing; Lisa
Ohm, professor of modern and classical languages;
Jim Read, professor of political science; S. Mary
Reuter, associate professor of theology; Wendy
Sterba, professor of modern and classical lan-guages;
and Richard Wielkiewicz, professor of
psychology.
Twenty years of service: Annette Atkins, profes-sor
of history; Gary Brown, associate professor of
mathematics; Michael Gass, associate professor of
mathematics; S. Eva Hooker, professor of English;
S. Helen Rolfson, associate professor of theology;
Vera Theisen, professor of modern and classical lan-guages;
and Fr. Bruce Wollmering, associate profes-sor
of psychology.
Twenty-five years of service: Dan Steck, profes-sor
of physics; and Charles Thornbury, professor of
English.
Thirty years of service: S. Dennis Frandrup, pro-fessor
of art; and Kerry Lafferty, associate professor
of theater.
Thirty-five years of service: Fr. J.P. Earls, associ-ate
professor of English; Margy Hughes, professor
of physical education; Frank Rioux, professor of
chemistry; Charles Villette, associate professor of
modern and classical languages; and Robert Weber,
associate professor of political science.
Forty years of service: Robert Dumonceaux,
Regents professor of mathematics.
Fifty years of service: John Gagliardi, Regents
professor of athletics.
Retiring: Shobha Deshmukh-Gill, associate pro-fessor
of mathematics; Fr. Roger Kasprick, theolo-gy;
Kerry Lafferty, associate professor of theater;
Jerry Lenz, associate professor of mathematics; and
Tony Sorem, associate professor of psychology.
Froehle Named Saint John’s
Administrator of the Year
Saint John’s Prep physics teacher, Peter Froehle,
has been named the Saint John’s 2003 Administrator
of the Year. SJU president Br. Dietrich Reinhart
made the announcement in May at the annual Saint
John’s Administrative Assembly recognition lunch-eon.
This award is
given annually to a
member of the Saint
John’s community
whose work exempli-fies
service and excel-lence.
Since 1959, Froehle
has been teaching,
coaching and mentor-ing
students in the
Saint John’s Prep com-munity.
He was presented with a plaque to commemo-rate
the award and a tree was planted in his honor
on the Saint John’s campus.
Also nominated for the honor were: Michael
Hemmesch, SJU director of communication/sports
information director, Communication and
Marketing Services; Ken Osborne, SJU assistant
director of accounting, Business Office; and Jeff
Wubbels, SJU events coordinator, Dining Service.
New Steering Committee members were
announced and out-going members were recog-nized
for their service. New members are: Sarah
Pruett, ESL coordinator, modern and classical lan-guages;
Carol Marrin, project director, Saint John’s
Bible Project; and John Geissler, assistant director,
Saint John’s Arboretum. Outgoing members are
Burdette Miller-Lehn, associate director for media
Campus News
Body of Clay, Soul of Fire
Receives Publishers Award
Body of Clay, Soul of Fire:
Richard Bresnahan and the Saint
John’s Pottery was recently awarded
first place in the Art/Photo/Coffee
Table category at the Midwest
Independent Publishers Association
awards program. The Midwest
Independent Publishers Association
serves the upper-Midwest publishing
community in a collaboration of pub-lishing,
production, promotion and
marketing information.
Body of Clay is the story of
Richard Bresnahan, artist-in-resi-dence
at SJU and director of the
Saint John’s Pottery program. The
author of the book is Dr. Matthew
Welch, curator of Japanese and
Korean Art at The Minneapolis
Institute of Arts; the designer was
Barbara J. Arney and the publisher
was the Afton Historical Society
Press in Afton, Minn.
Body of Clay accompanies a trav-eling
exhibition of Bresnahan’s and
his apprentices’ work that opened at
SJU in December 2001 and contin-ues
to tour museums in Minnesota,
the Dakotas and Wisconsin.
CSB 5 SJU
Peter Froehle (right) and
Jason Kelly.
services, SJU Media Center; Pam Kotzenmacher,
assistant director of accounting, SJU Business
Office; and Jason Kelly, management and academic
advising, CSB/SJU Academic Advising.
Facalty/Staff News
Kathleen A. Ohman, professor of nursing,
recently attained CCRN certification after success-fully
completing the nationally recognized examina-tion.
CCRN certification is one of the most advanced
professional credentials that can be achieved by a
nurse in the field of critical care. As a result, the
CCRN designation is highly regarded as recognition
of advanced knowledge and clinical expertise in the
care of critically ill patients and their families. Most
importantly, the CCRN credential signals that these
individuals have been acknowledged by their peers
as being among the very best in the critical care
nursing profession. There are currently 45,000
neonatal, pediatric and adult CCRN-certified nurses
practicing worldwide.
Vilma Chiu-Walter, instructor of modern and
classical languages, presented a paper at the XXIII
International Conference of the Poetics and
Linguistics Association in Istanbul, Turkey, on June
23. Her paper was titled “Linguistic Environmental
Considerations in Second Language Acquisition:
Natural vs. Formal Environment.” The synopsis of
the paper has been published in the PALA 2003
Book of Abstracts.
Jon McGee, CSB/SJU vice president for institu-tional
planning, research and communication, has
joined the Board of Directors for the Collaboration
for the Advancement of College Teaching and
Learning, a regional membership organization that
supports and promotes outstanding college teach-ing
at public, private, and tribally-affiliated colleges
and universities. The Collaboration offers programs
and services that provide professional support for
those who want to enhance student learning
through involvement in an inter-institutional and
interdisciplinary community of peers; identify
trends and issues that affect student learning and
prepare faculty and staff to meet them; identify, dis-seminate
and foster approaches to teaching, learn-ing
and faculty development; and engage members
of the academic community in the collaborative,
scholarly examination of their practice. Rita
Knuesel, CSB dean of the college, also serves on
the board.
Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, assistant professor of
theology, translated several Gregorian chant texts
from Latin to English for a CD booklet released in
Austria, “Bearing Fruit,” sung by members of Zwettl
monastery and the chant schola of the Hofburg (for-mer
royal palace) in Vienna.
Mark Conway, director of the CSB Literary Arts
Institute and Project Logos, was a final judge for the
Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship program for
poetry in April. The MSAB Fellowship program is
designed to recognize, reward and encourage out-standing
individual artists. Twelve-month fellow-ships
are awarded to provide time, materials and liv-ing
expenses for artists working in the visual, liter-ary
and performing arts.
Louis Johnston, assistant professor of econom-ics,
is the author of three articles published in The
Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. They
are “Balance of Payments”; “James J. Hill”; and
“National Income Accounts: Exports and Imports.”
Ronald M. Bosrock, Professor/Myers Chair in
Management, gave an address on Aug. 8, before the
Minneapolis Rotary Club on the “Issue of
International Trade and New Competition.”
Gina Wolfe, associate professor of theology and
director, Vocation Project, has been named to the
Board of Directors of the United States Catholic
China Bureau (UCCB) for a three-year term. The
UCCB works to promote understanding of
Catholics and other religious believers in China,
seeking to re-engage the U.S. Catholic Church in a
new missionary partnership with the Catholic
Church in China.
The 2002 SJU football game program has
received top honors in publications. The program
covers for 2002 were listed as best in NCAA
Division III and the program was judged second-best
in NCAA Division III. The awards were
announced at the College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA) annual workshop
held this summer in Cleveland.
All SJU athletic game programs are a collective
effort among Michael Hemmesch, SJU director of
communication and sports information director,
Communication and Marketing Services; and Tom
Stock, director of athletic marketing/merchandiz-ing,
and John Biasi, advancement Web/publica-tions
designer, Institutional Advancement.
Campus News
The Welcome Mat
We welcome the following faculty
and staff to the CSB/SJU communi-ty:
Gary Feldhege, Liturgical Press
John Mathews, Admission
Andrea Terhaar, Admission
Rachel Wolinski, Philosophy
Nancy Tong, Institutional
Advancement
Carole Coleman, Business
Office
Kate Hand, Athletics
Jennifer Schwichtenberg, Library
Janelle Sietsema, Library
Ann Belanger, Food Service
Dave Laliberte, Athletics
Lynn Mueller, Student
Development
Farewell to Friends
Doris Frey, Development
Jill Holbrook, Vocation Project
Margaret Derksen, Development
Kate Kamakahi, Student
Development
Stacy Wiener, Food Service
Jeff Bretherton, Institutional
Advancement
Linda Rhode, Health Center
Stephen Burmeister-May,
International Education
Shobha Deshmukh,
Mathematics
Gaynor Claire Haeg, Political
Science
Samuel Hull Jr., Theater
Marian Johnson, Education
Gerald Lenz, Mathematics
Abigail Meyer, Biology
Christina Prom, Psychology
Christopher Ruddy, Theology
Robert Wilde, Art
Angela Wood, Admission
Kelly Kierzek, Dining Service
Natasha Thiede, Fine Arts
Michael Dreher, Life Safety
Alexander Collen, Life Safety
Katina Bruggman, Theology
Chris Thompson, Campus
Ministry
Jeffrey Hutson, OSB, Library
Christian Breczinski, Arboretum
Gael Fonken, Health Center
CSB 6 SJU
(Bosnia, continued from front page)
spoke fondly of long conversations the group had
with Rambo and their interpreter as those two con-sumed
massive quantities of coffee and cigarettes.
The group had bestowed the nickname Rambo
based on his war-time experiences. An ex-patriot,
he had returned home to join the Special Forces to
defend Sarajevo during the siege.
During one leisurely dinner, “fueled by alcohol,
everybody relaxed and told jokes and stories”
Herzfeld noted. And there was singing. She recalled
the joy of singing a pop tune with the translator.
Political science professor Manju Parikh remem-bers
a vivid moment in a quiet pasture, sheltered by
forested hills, as the point when she found common
ground with the group’s Muslim driver and inter-preter
and also felt the full import of the tragedy in
the Balkans. “We went to Srebrenica to see a mon-ument,
still in construction, for the thousands of
innocent victims of the war,” she said. “We stopped
in this beautiful little pasture, surrounded by hills
and forests — so peaceful and green. But then you
begin to notice little wooden sticks, markers of
some sort, and you wonder what they are. Suddenly
it occurs to you that each stick is a marker for a
grave.” The forested hills were where Muslim men
ran to hide and were hunted down and killed,
Parikh explained. Through DNA testing the bodies
are being identified and given proper burial in this
green place. “I began to weep, and the driver and
interpreter understood my grief.”
Parikh found this juxtaposition of so much tragedy
with such great beauty to be particularly moving and
a common experience in the Balkans, where whole
villages and house after house were destroyed amidst
the overarching natural beauty of the region.
“It is an incredibly beautiful place,” Parikh said,
“with rocky terrain, virgin forests, hidden valleys
and absolutely deep blue rivers.”
At the same time, the former Yugoslavia’s cities are
sophisticated, urbane cultural centers, Parikh said,
wishing to dispel any image Americans may have of the
place as savage and backwards. “The Russians used to
call Belgrade the “Paris of the East.” It’s a beautiful city,
Campus News
Liturgical Press Earns Awards
from Catholic Press Association
The Liturgical Press won five
first-place awards at the Catholic
Press Association’s annual con-vention
in Atlanta. The awards
were received in pastoral ministry,
professional books, direct mail pro-motion,
best feature story in prayer
and spirituality magazines for The
Bible Today and best essay in reli-gious
order magazines for The
Abbey Banner.
The Liturgical Press also
received second-place awards in
pastoral ministry, professional
books, Spanish language titles, ref-erence
books, general catalog and
best Web site; third-place awards
in theology, liturgy, reference books
and direct mail promotion; and hon-orable
mentions in spirituality and
theology; general excellence for
prayer and spirituality magazines
for The Bible Today; and general
excellence for religious order mag-azines
for The Abbey Banner.
CSB 7 SJU
Off to a Good Start: Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Norma, Dickau, public services librarian, CSB/SJU Libraries
Editor’s note: Each month, the Healthy Learning Community and the Partners for Healthy Learning
promote a health theme to the CSB and SJU campuses. These groups are involved in the promotion of
physical, intellectual, emotional, social, occupational and spiritual health.
Have a hearty laugh. That is the perfect way to
start a semester. First of all it’s a new beginning,
and there is the excitement of meeting a whole
bunch of fresh, eager students — not to mention
hearing of the summer adventures of our returning
students. It always causes us to smile and greet
them warmly. From that warm greeting it is not a
long jump to laughter. Stop and listen to the waves
of laughter that are a part of Benedictine hospitali-ty
heard all around the campuses.
Laughter is a very good thing for our students,
and also very healthy for the rest of us. Let’s look at
the ways a simple laugh benefits us. First of all,
physiologically, it gives us a grand workout. One
study indicates that a single minute of hearty laugh-ter
gives the same aerobic benefits as fifteen min-utes
on a rowing machine! Laughing is sometimes
referred to as “internal jogging” and gives a gentle
massage to our internal organs. Further, the cardio-vascular
system is stimulated during laughter, and
while the blood pressure and heart rates go up tem-porarily,
this is followed by relaxation and vasodi-latation,
which lowers our blood pressure numbers.
Stress reduction is another real benefit. We all
know that laughter can ease tension in interperson-al
relations, but it can also help us relax as well. As
the laughter expands blood vessels, it increases
blood flow to tense muscles in our bodies, and that
aids the relaxation process. Finally, it gives a boost
to our immune system. After hearty laughter,
immunoglobulin A is found in increased levels in
our saliva.
Ideas to help us laugh more:
● Be alert to funny situations; make it important
to find humor every day and share it.
● Save some of the good jokes that come via e-mail
in a folder called “Humor Research.”
● Have a “Mirthday” party, where all participants
share a good laugh.
● Try laughing out loud for no reason. I have
been practicing, and I can go on for about three
minutes. It’s much more fun than that rowing
machine!
● Several good reads on the subject are: Humor
and the Health Professions, The Therapeutic Use
of Humor in Health Care by Vera M. Robinson, and
Laugh For No Reason by Madan Kataria (who start-ed
Laughter Clubs in India which are now world-wide.)
● For more information contact ndickau@
csbsju.edu, or go to www.worldlaughtertour.com
(“Think globally, laugh locally.”)
very European, with wonderful cultural offerings, bou-tiques,
cafes, department stores and bookstores of the
caliber you’d find in New York or Los Angeles.”
The contrast between this sophisticated culture
and the violence that erupted there is puzzling, said
Jim Read, also a political science professor. “As a
political theorist, I am interested in how something
like this could happen in such a place.” It was a soci-ety
in which Bosnians, Serbs and Croats — Muslims
and Christians — were able to live and work together,
were friends and intermarried. “Then it all came apart
very quickly to the point that people were just slaugh-tering
members of other groups, or driving them out
and destroying their houses. It was not a war between
armies, but a war between populations.”
Parikh thinks the region’s leaders capitalized on
post-Cold War political and economic uncertainties
by using nationalist feelings to undermine what har-mony
existed among the various populations in
Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. “And of course, there
were some gripes from the past that they could res-urrect,”
she said, adding that, even so, many citizens
of the region were opposed to what was happening.
“However, I have to say, when we asked people
there why they thought it had happened,” Read said,
“they themselves seemed kind of puzzled by it all.”
For Christina Tourino, assistant professor of
English, the experience challenged what she
described as her uniquely American sense of eth-nicity
and citizenship. “Americans tend to believe
that citizenship is something that can be acquired
through conversion. In our nation’s history, it’s been
possible to come here, either willingly or against
your will, learn another language, pledge your alle-giance
to the flag, become a citizen and your nation-ality
is American.” But in the former Yugoslavia,
there are three different groups of people who look
similar and speak roughly the same language, “real-ly
three different dialects of the same language,”
Tourino said. “But you can get into trouble with
someone depending on how you order a cup of cof-fee.”
The Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian nationalist
identity is tied to place, language differences, reli-gion
and other factors that seem to be absolute,
Tournino said. “National identity is tied to a concept
of difference, rather than agreed-upon shared val-ues
and vision,” she explained.
Like her colleagues, Tourino found tremendous
utility in actually visiting the region in order to vis-cerally
understand such fine lines of demarcation
between people and politics. Read and Parikh both
teach classes and symposia on the nature of war
and peace and will have a better understanding of
what happened in this particular instance and will
look for the universal experiences of war, reconcili-ation
and nation-building that can be applied to the
experiences of others wars and other peoples.
Tourino’s focus in research and teaching is mainly
the literature of unheard voices, multi-ethnic
CSB 8 SJU
COMMUNITY
Community is published by the
CSB/SJU Communication and
Marketing Services staff:
Jon McGee, Vice President for
Institutional Planning, Research
and Communication
Greg Hoye, Executive Director
of Communication and Marketing
Services
Julie Marthaler, Office
Coordinator (CSB)
Viv Krueger, Office
Coordinator (SJU)
Mike Durbin, Sports
Information Director (CSB)
Michael Hemmesch,
SJU Director of Communication
Jo Ann Shroyer,
CSB Director of Communication
Glenda Isaacs Burgeson,
Assistant Director of
Communication/Community Editor
Tammy Hansen, Assistant
Director of Communication/
Electronic and Print Media
Greg Becker, Senior Associate
Director of Publications
and Graphic Services
Kay L. Buytaert, Associate
Director of Publications
and Graphic Services
Ron Schoonover, Assistant
Director of Publications
and Graphic Services
Kathy Wenker ’04,
Community Student Coordinator
Deadline for the
September issue is August
22. To share your infor-mation
and story ideas,
simply e-mail them directly
to Community at:
community@csbsju.edu.
expression in the U.S. and Latin America, particu-larly
literature arising from cultural crisis.
“Truthfully, my mind had worn a groove in this
regard and I went on the trip to try and get my mind to
jump its tracks,” Tourino said. “And it sure worked.”
Read came away from the experience impressed
with the people who escaped the bloodshed and
have chosen to return to their homeland to help put
it back together again. “These are courageous, com-mitted
people who, having been driven out, are
coming back from living in the United States or
Canada or some other place where they have been
living safely to try and rebuild their homeland,”
Read said. “I think there’s something to be learned
both from what went wrong and the efforts to piece
it back together again.”
For Hayes, the visit was a return to familiar people
and places. He has reported extensively from the area
for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and
Minnesota Public Radio. In 1994-95, as a Fulbright
Fellow in Journalism, he was based in Zagreb, Croatia,
filing reports on the war in the former Yugoslavia.
“I was asked to arrange the trip, and I was
delighted to do so,” he said. “For 20 years, I have
had an obsessive personal and professional fascina-tion
with the area.”
Based on this recent visit, he has filed a report
for airing on the PBS program, “NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer.”
What compels his attention, he said, aside from
the area’s absorbing beauty is a dreadful combina-tion
of human dignity and abominable behavior. He
returns to the area in search of answers to universal
questions: “I am forever puzzled how people can
commit such atrocities.”
Prior to this trip, Hayes last visited the area in May-
June of 2001. This time, he said he “went with cyni-cism
but that tempered a bit. The process underway
gives grounds for more hope than I had thought.”
Politically, the area has stabilized, he said, and
power is shifting into better hands. He worries,
however, about repercussions associated with what
he calls the “economic meltdown.”
“That’s my nightmare and immediate concern
because of the corruption it fosters. Bosnia is a
major source in illegal arms trafficking and the
human sex industry is deeply troubling,” he said.
Still, he believes the economy will recover, and
that, once the American troops withdraw, the
European community will maintain security.
As for the lessons he will bring to the classroom,
Hayes said he wants his students to consider the
ethical question of how ordinary people can commit
extraordinary crimes of genocide. Also, he will chal-lenge
them to consider the responsibility of the
United States to intervene.
Long term, he believes the area offers opportuni-ties
for service learning and ecumenical dialog.

Click tabs to swap between content that is broken into logical sections.

A newsletter for the faculty and staff of the College of Saint Benedict/Saint John’s University August 2003
prepared by Glenda Isaacs Burgeson
Community editor
and Jo Shroyer
CSB director of communication
Communication and Marketing Services
Amid the post-war rubble of human destruction in the for-mer
Yugoslavia, amid the grim reminders of human suffering
and cruelty, maybe humor helps dull the pain. The group of
CSB/SJU faculty who
toured the region May 24
through June 5 nicknamed
their driver “Rambo.”
Noreen Herzfeld, CSB/
SJU professor of computer
science, recalled the
humor that bonded her
and her fellow travelers
with their driver and inter-preter
during the tour. The
humor helped balance, in
some small measure, the
devastation and loss they
encountered, she said.
Herzfeld was part of a
CSB/SJU faculty develop-ment
team that toured
post-war areas in Bosnia
— Sarajevo, Banja Luka,
Tuzla and Srebrenica —
along with visits to Zagreb
and Belgrade. Led by Nick
Hayes, professor of histo-ry
and holder of the
University Chair of Critical Thinking, the tour was funded with
a $25,000 gift from Dan Whalen, vice chair of the Saint John’s
Board of Regents and 1970 SJU graduate.
The purpose of the initiative was to grant selected faculty
the opportunity to explore global issues of conflict, human
rights and international intervention within a specific histori-cal
and cultural context and thereby enrich the classroom
experience across the curriculum.
For Herzfeld, the tour was a chance to look at Islam in a
Western culture. In addition to her teaching assignments in
computer science, she also teaches the spirituality of Islam.
“It’s easy for our students to associate Islam with the Middle
East,” Herzfeld said. She explained that she wanted to gain a
sense of that faith tradition within a Western society. She also
wanted to explore the possibility for peace and reconciliation
and she has since written an article, “Religious Nationalism and
Western Intervention: A Letter from the Balkans,” that has been
accepted for publication by Christian Centuries.
Based on her inter-views,
she believes the
immediate prospects for
reconciliation are re-mote;
the feelings of the
people she met are still
too raw. In some in-stances,
people are still
searching for the graves
of loved ones.
“They have a long way
to go. Everyone we talked
with speaks of the need to
forgive. Some are more
hesitant. They say, ‘I’ll for-give;
but I’ll never forget.’
“The pain, fear and mis-trust
are very much alive
in people and for very
good reason,” Herzfeld
said. Only recently, anoth-er
mass grave was discov-ered,
she said.
Herzfeld spoke of
“shells of houses that dot
the countryside,” of an entire village destroyed and of an inter-view
with a woman, the first Muslim to return to her neighbor-hood,
who had lost her husband and two sons in a massacre.
She spoke of the sheer intensity of the visit. “It was extraor-dinary.
I hardly slept — two or three hours a night.”
The range of human emotion was not limited to the tragic.
Juxtaposed with the images of horror she recalled, Herzfeld
(See Bosnia, Page 7)
Faculty Group Seeks Understanding,
Gains Insights from Bosnia
From left: Jim Read, Noreen Herzfeld, Martina Talic — a CSB student from
Bosnia, Manju Parikh, Christina Tourino and Nick Hayes.
Dr. Carol Guardo Assumes
Her Role as President of CSB
prepared by Jo Shroyer
CSB director of communication
Communication and Marketing Services
On July 1 Dr. Carol Guardo, the College of Saint
Benedict’s new president, assumed her duties in a
one-year appointment. She replaced Dr. Mary Lyons,
who is now the presi-dent
of the University
of San Diego in
California. The presi-dential
search com-mittee,
chaired by
CSB Board Chair Sue
Lester, has begun its
mission to find a long-term
president for the
college. (See “CSB
Presidential Search
Committee Announced,” at right.)
Guardo says she is settling in comfortably and has
been welcomed warmly by the campus community.
“In that true College of Saint Benedict spirit,” she
said. Guardo knows CSB and SJU well, having come
here often in the past 10 years to assist college and
university leadership in the evolution of the coordi-nate
mission. Her familiarity with the CSB/SJU com-munity
makes her ideally suited to oversee this
important transition for CSB.
“It is immensely helpful to know a lot of people and
to understand the partnership with Saint John’s,”
Guardo says. “For someone who doesn’t have that
knowledge, it’s a lot to learn,” she explains.
“Furthermore, I have the advantage of knowing Br.
Dietrich well, so there is already an established rela-tionship
between us. That makes stepping into this role
much easier.” Because of her fondness for the commu-nity,
Guardo welcomed this opportunity to return and
engage in the mission of the institutions.
Throughout her career in higher education,
Guardo has served as dean and provost for institu-tions
of higher education. She has been president of
Rhode Island College in Providence and president of
the Great Lakes College Association, a consortium of
12 selective liberal arts colleges in Michigan, Indiana
and Ohio. She also has 20 years of experience as a
trustee of Catholic colleges.
Guardo has held academic administrative posi-tions
in secular universities with such professional
areas as business, education, pharmacy and engineer-ing.
“In this way I acquired many different ways of
looking at the world, because each of these profes-sional
areas have their own ways of analysis, synthe-sis
and examination,” she said, noting that she is, her-self,
by nature, an analytical person. “I have enjoyed
being able to have intelligent discourse with people in
all those professional areas and have learned that
they are as strongly dedicated to the liberal arts as we
are. It has been an excellent educational experience
for me and I have been enriched by it.”
A deep commitment to the liberal arts has been
another important factor in Guardo’s willingness to
accept this post. “I have been well-served by the lib-eral
arts,” she said, beginning, she noted, with her
undergraduate education at a Catholic liberal arts
women’s college. “Throughout my career I have been
a champion of such an education,” she explained. “It
provides you modes of thinking, analyzing and syn-thesizing,
giving you the ability to engage with the
world and your own experiences. It fosters the devel-opment
of critical thinking skills and offers a frame of
reference for making sense of the world. Moreover, it
gives you the ability to learn what you need to learn.”
The CSB president’s charge for the coming year,
Guardo explains, is to carry on the work of the col-lege
and advance the strategic agenda for the college
and the coordinate relationship. She intends to serve
as a translator of the coordinate relationship for the
incoming president and bring clarity to a unique situ-ation.
“I am willing to be helpful in every way that I
can” she concluded. While here Guardo will be
instrumental in advancing the vital partnerships
between the monastery and the college. “These cam-puses
are so incredibly lucky to have the vibrant
communities of the monastery and the abbey here. I
very much want to make sure that the distinctive
Benedictine character remains alive and well during
this time of transition and beyond.”
Coleman Named as SJU
Vice President For Finance
and Administration
Carole T. Coleman has been named vice presi-dent
for finance and administration at SJU. Prior to
her appointment, effective July 1, she had served
since 1996 as execu-tive
vice president
and chief financial
officer at Wheeling
Jesuit University in
Wheeling, W.Va.
Coleman is an
experienced adminis-trator
with a 19-year
career in higher edu-cation
at a Catholic
institution including
positions at Wheeling as director of business opera-tions
and director of financial administration. She
holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration
and a master’s in business administration from
Wheeling.
Campus News
CSB Presidential Search
Committee Announced
The Executive Committee of the
CSB Board of Trustees recently
announced the mission and the
membership of the presidential
search committee. The committee,
under the leadership of the board
of trustees chair Susan Lester, is
charged with recommending to the
Trustees, no later than February
2004, an unranked list of three to
five individuals who, in the commit-tee’s
judgement, are well qualified
to lead CSB as its next president.
The committee will conduct a full
national search to attract a well-qualified
and diverse pool of candi-dates,
Lester said. With the assis-tance
of a search consultant,
Academic Search Consultation
Service, the committee will devise,
organize and implement the entire
search process. The following were
named to the committee:
Susan Lester, trustee, search
committee chair
Ed Kocourek, trustee
Janet Fiola, trustee
Harvey Jewett, trustee
S. Emmanuel Renner, OSB,
trustee
Dr. Janet Hope, faculty
Dr. Richard White, faculty
S. Christian Morris, OSB, Saint
Benedict’s Monastery
Iris Cornelius, regent, SJU
Jon McGee, Coordinate Cabinet
Beverly Radaich, CSB staff
Shelly Bauerly Kopel, CSB
alumna
Kate Schmucker, CSB student
CSB 2 SJU
Dr. Carol Guardo
Carole T. Coleman
In announcing her appointment, SJU president
Br. Dietrich Reinhart cited not only her strong finan-cial
background but her firm belief in the impor-tance
of education for life, leadership and service.
Grand Master to Receive
Honorary Degree from SJU
His Most Eminent Highness Frà Andrew Bertie,
Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta,
will receive an honorary doctorate from SJU on Sunday
evening, Oct. 12.
In making the
announcement, SJU
president Br. Dietrich
Reinhart, OSB cited
the longstanding rela-tionship
between the
Knights of Malta and
the Benedictines,
which can be traced
back to the 12th centu-ry.
This relationship
continues today through Frà Bertie’s Benedictine edu-cation
and teaching career. More recently, through the
work of the Malta Study Center of the Hill Monastic
Manuscript Library, the Benedictine monks of Saint
John’s Abbey have sponsored the preservation and
filming of the archives of the Knights of Malta, housed
in the National Library of Malta in Valletta. The con-ferral
of the degree also commemorates the 30th
anniversary of this Malta filming project.
Founded in the late 11th century, the Order of Malta
has been dedicated to the medical care of pilgrims and
the sick with hospitals first in Jerusalem, then in
Rhodes and finally in Malta. Presently, the Order main-tains
its mission in the field of medical and social care
and humanitarian aid with dispensaries, hospitals and
relief services to people in the Middle East, Europe,
North America and South America. Today, it is a sover-eign
entity that maintains diplomatic relationships with
92 nations. The Order numbers some 10,000 members
who commit themselves to prayer and service to the
sick and the poor around the world.
Frà Bertie is of Scottish descent and was educat-ed
at the Benedictine school of Ampleforth Abbey
in Yorkshire, England. For 23 years, he taught mod-ern
languages at the school conducted by the
Benedictine monks of Worth Abbey in Sussex. He
was admitted to the Sovereign Military Order of
Malta in 1956, and, in 1981, he took vows as a fully
professed member of the Order. In 1988, he was
elected the 78th Grand Master. As the Grand Master,
Frà Bertie serves for life and is elected from among
the professed Knights of the Order.
The Malta Study Center of the Hill Monastic
Manuscript Library was established in 1973, with
the mission to preserve and make accessible
archival materials related to the history of the island
of Malta and the Knights of Malta. The goals of the
Malta Study Center are to foster in the United States
the study of the military and hospitaller religious
orders and to generate awareness of the island of
Malta’s unique role in the Mediterranean history.
In close cooperation with the government of
Malta, with the National Library in Valletta and with
the Cathedral Museum in Mdina, the Center assem-bled
and maintains a microfilm collection of more
than 16,000 documents and dossiers of documents
from Malta, covering the period of the 12th to the 20th
century. The materials include the Archives of the
Knights of Malta, the Cathedral Museum in Mdina, the
Archives of the Inquisition, ecclesiastical records of
the dioceses of Malta and Gozo and musical compo-sitions.
This is the largest collection of Maltese
archival materials available outside the island. The
Center also contains one of the most extensive
libraries in the United States of antiquarian and mod-ern
publications dealing with Malta’s history, litera-ture
and culture, as well as materials pertaining to the
Knights of St. John and the history of the Crusades.
CSB Appoints New Hockey Coach
David Laliberte has been named head ice hockey
coach at CSB. A native of Wausau, Wis., Laliberte is
a 2000 SJU graduate with a bachelor’s degree in
social science, with
minors in secondary
education, history
and coaching.
Athletic Director
Carol Howe-Veenstra
is excited about the
addition of Laliberte
to the Blazer staff.
“Dave is an alum of
SJU and I love the
fact that he has spent
time on campus. He has an appreciation for Blazer
athletics and has clearly identified with the values
of the educational and developmental experience
here.” Howe-Veenstra is also pleased with
Laliberte’s work ethic. “He is organized, with great
communication skills and exhibits a high level of
professionalism. I’m excited to work with him.”
Laliberte comes to the Blazers from Woodbury
High School, where he was a social studies teacher
and head girls hockey coach from 2000-03. Prior to
that, he served as assistant varsity hockey coach for
the St. Cloud Icebreakers from 1998-2000. In addi-tion,
he has served as a clinician at numerous hock-ey
camps in the state of Minnesota.
Campus News
Clemens Lecture Announced
Harvard economist Professor
Michael Kremer will deliver the
2003 Clemens Lecture at 8 p.m.
Thursday, Sept. 11 in the Stephen
B. Humphrey Auditorium on the
SJU campus. His address is titled
“New Approaches to U.S. policy in
the Developing World: Addressing
Neglected Diseases and Odious
Debts.”
Kremer has earned a reputation
for unconventional approaches to
persistent economic and social
problems. For example, he has
proposed formally warning banks
that debts contracted by non-dem-ocratic
regimes would not need to
be repaid by successor govern-ments,
leading banks to either
raise interest rates for such
regimes to cover the increased risk
of default or to not lend at all.
As always, the Clemens Lecture
is designed for general audiences;
students will understand what
Kremer has to say.
Two Assistant Coaches
Join CSB Volleyball
Heather Evans and Paige Karno
have joined the Blazer volleyball
team this fall as assistant coaches.
Evans has been the student
assistant coach at Division II North
Dakota State University. She is a
2003 NDSU graduate with a bach-elor’s
degree in human perform-ance
and fitness. She was a four-year
letter winner at NDSU, where
she earned honorable mention in
the conference and All-NCC 1st
team in 2001.
Karno has experience in coaching
at all levels. She was the club direc-tor
for the Sartell Junior Olympic
Volleyball Program and has also
served as head coach for the Junior
Olympic Team. Karno played her col-lege
volleyball at Southwest State,
where she holds records in career
kills, career digs and single-season
digs. She was also a two-time all-conference
pick at Southwest State.
CSB 3 SJU
David Laliberte
Frà Andrew Bertie
CSB/SJU Faculty Honored
CSB/SJU faculty members were honored in May
at the Academic Affairs awards ceremony.
Manuel Campos, associate professor of biology,
received the S. Mary Grell Teacher of Distinction
Award.
S. Mary Grell, a noted biologist, served students
for more than 35 years with intelligence, skill, dedi-cation
and genuine affection for them. The differ-ence
S. Mary made in her lifetime of teaching at
Saint Benedict is celebrated through the recognition
each year of a faculty member who represents the
best of teaching and learning at CSB/SJU.
Campos views teaching and learning as interde-pendent
events with teaching being also an ongoing
dedication to learning, a willingness to always
remain a student. He believes that only through his
own continuing search for knowledge is he able to
keep up with the ever-changing face of science and
convey to students his own excitement and interest
in the field. His research has led to his active partic-ipation
in summer undergraduate research for stu-dents.
Campos’ collaboration and collegiality is evident
in his support of the academic community. Many of
his colleagues know of his quiet hard work and the
energy he invests in tasks or projects that go
beyond his own scholarly and professional interests
to benefit the larger community.
Michael Livingston, associate professor of psy-chology,
received the SJU Robert L. Spaeth Teacher
of Distinction Award.
The award is named in honor of Spaeth, who
died in 1994. He served as dean of the college at SJU
for nine years in addition to offering lengthy terms
of service as professor of liberal studies and direc-tor
of freshman symposium. Each year, Spaeth’s
commitment to excellent teaching is remembered
by honoring a faculty member who brings a special
passion and mastery to the classroom and the learn-ing
community.
Livingston has been an active scholar, with more
than 60 publications to his credit and more than 20
professional papers and presentations. He is active
both within his professional field of psychology and
with the American Association of University
Professors (AAUP), which he serves as vice presi-dent
of the Minnesota Conference of the AAUP and
as editor of the Minnesota Academe, the organiza-tion’s
newsletter.
It is Livingston’s dedication and success in teach-ing,
however, that is recognized and celebrated with
the Spaeth Award. Many students have completed
internships, externships, individual learning proj-ects,
senior research projects and honors theses
under his supervision and direction. Livingston is
sought out by students for both his classes and for
experiential learning experiences.
Daniel Steck, pro-fessor
of physics,
received the CSB/SJU
Te a c h e r- S c h o l a r
Award.
This award is
given annually to a
faculty member who
exemplifies demon-strated
excellence in
scholarship as well as
teaching, conducts
student/faculty collaborative research or creative
work and excels in the mentoring of students.
This past summer marked Steck’s 22nd consecu-tive
year collaborating on research with CSB/SJU
students. Beyond the impressive number of years
his commitment represents, Steck has served as an
exceptional role model for aspiring scientists.
Steck’s research — notably his investigations in
radon gas exposure and lung cancer — is impres-sive
and substantial. He served as associate editor
of Health Physics from 1993-96 and has approxi-mately
50 publications to his credit in journals and
reviewed papers. He has received the Clean Air
Research Award from the American Lung
Association, as well as the Young Investigator
Award Indoor Air. He has been awarded 14 external
grants for radon-related research and is the recipi-ent
of 20 faculty research grants from CSB/SJU. He
is a recognized expert in his field, and his work has
brought honor and better health to the greater com-munity.
Advising awards were presented to: Matt
Callahan, cross divisional, symposium; S. Dennis
Frandrup, fine arts, professor of art; Fr. Rene
McGraw, humanities, associate professor of philos-ophy;
Elizabeth Wurdak, natural science, associate
professor of biology; and Janet Hope, social sci-ence,
associate professor of sociology.
The following tenure awards, appointments and
promotions were announced.
Tenure and promotion to associate professor:
Manuel Campos, biology; Chris Freeman, English;
Bill Lamberts, biology; Br. Doug Mullin, education;
and Greg Schroeder, history.
Campus News
Fadiman to Speak at SJU
Award-winning author Anne
Fadiman will speak at 8 p.m. Sept.
22 in the SJU Pellegrene
Auditorium, Science Center. Her
lecture is the fifth in the lecture
series, “Ethical Thinking in Global
Times.”
Fadiman is the editor of The
American Scholar and author of
The Spirit Catches You and You
Fall Down and Ex Libris:
Confessions of a Common Reader.
A recipient of a National Magazine
Award for Reporting, she has writ-ten
for Civilization, Harper’s, Life
and The New York Times.
Her campus visit is sponsored by
the University Chair in Critical
Thinking, the Schirber Lecture
Series and the Asian Studies
Learning Community. Her visit will
include a reception, dinner and dia-log
with the faculty and community.
Her public lecture will address
the making and themes of The
Spirit Catches You and You Fall
Down, an account of the tragic
encounter of the Hmong communi-ty
with the American medical sys-tem.
For information about her pro-gram
and opportunities for stu-dents,
faculty and staff, contact
Norma Koetter at #2770.
CSB 4 SJU
Manuel Campos (left) and Michael Livingston.
Daniel Steck
Tenure and promotion to professor: Larry Davis,
geology and biology; and Laura Rodgers, nursing.
Promotion to associate professor: Richard
Albares, sociology.
Promotion to professor: Charles Bobertz, theolo-gy;
Noreen Herzfeld, computer science; and Elena
Sanchez-Mora, modern and classical languages.
Appointment of professor emeritus: Shobha
Deshmukh-Gill, mathematics; Fr. Roger Kasprick,
theology; Kerry Lafferty, theater; Jerry Lenz, mathe-matics;
and Tony Sorem, psychology.
Also recognized for their service were the
following:
Outgoing department chairs: Dave Bennetts, pro-fessor
of history; Phil Byrne, professor of mathe-matics;
Margaret Cook, professor of modern and
classical languages; S. Dennis Frandrup, professor
of art; Ozzie Mayers, professor of English; Br. Doug
Mullin, associate professor of education; Jamie
Partridge, assistant professor of management; and
Fr. Bruce Wollmering, associate professor of
psychology.
Service as acting department chair: Wendy
Klepetar, professor of management; and John
Merkle, professor of theology.
Service as joint faculty assembly chair: Jennifer
Galovich, associate professor of mathematics.
Service as core director: Kaarin Johnston, pro-fessor
of theater.
Service as dean, college of arts and sciences:
Cheryl Knox.
Ten years of service: Charles Bobertz, professor
of theology; Jose Antonio Fabres, associate profes-sor
of modern and classical languages; Fr. Kevin
Seasoltz, professor of theology; and Joyce Simones,
associate professor of nursing.
Fifteen years of service: Shobha Deshmukh-Gill,
associate professor of mathematics; Karen
Erickson, professor of modern and classical lan-guages;
Carolyn Finley, associate professor of
music; Henry Jakubowski, professor of chemistry;
Janet Neuwirth, associate professor of nursing; Lisa
Ohm, professor of modern and classical languages;
Jim Read, professor of political science; S. Mary
Reuter, associate professor of theology; Wendy
Sterba, professor of modern and classical lan-guages;
and Richard Wielkiewicz, professor of
psychology.
Twenty years of service: Annette Atkins, profes-sor
of history; Gary Brown, associate professor of
mathematics; Michael Gass, associate professor of
mathematics; S. Eva Hooker, professor of English;
S. Helen Rolfson, associate professor of theology;
Vera Theisen, professor of modern and classical lan-guages;
and Fr. Bruce Wollmering, associate profes-sor
of psychology.
Twenty-five years of service: Dan Steck, profes-sor
of physics; and Charles Thornbury, professor of
English.
Thirty years of service: S. Dennis Frandrup, pro-fessor
of art; and Kerry Lafferty, associate professor
of theater.
Thirty-five years of service: Fr. J.P. Earls, associ-ate
professor of English; Margy Hughes, professor
of physical education; Frank Rioux, professor of
chemistry; Charles Villette, associate professor of
modern and classical languages; and Robert Weber,
associate professor of political science.
Forty years of service: Robert Dumonceaux,
Regents professor of mathematics.
Fifty years of service: John Gagliardi, Regents
professor of athletics.
Retiring: Shobha Deshmukh-Gill, associate pro-fessor
of mathematics; Fr. Roger Kasprick, theolo-gy;
Kerry Lafferty, associate professor of theater;
Jerry Lenz, associate professor of mathematics; and
Tony Sorem, associate professor of psychology.
Froehle Named Saint John’s
Administrator of the Year
Saint John’s Prep physics teacher, Peter Froehle,
has been named the Saint John’s 2003 Administrator
of the Year. SJU president Br. Dietrich Reinhart
made the announcement in May at the annual Saint
John’s Administrative Assembly recognition lunch-eon.
This award is
given annually to a
member of the Saint
John’s community
whose work exempli-fies
service and excel-lence.
Since 1959, Froehle
has been teaching,
coaching and mentor-ing
students in the
Saint John’s Prep com-munity.
He was presented with a plaque to commemo-rate
the award and a tree was planted in his honor
on the Saint John’s campus.
Also nominated for the honor were: Michael
Hemmesch, SJU director of communication/sports
information director, Communication and
Marketing Services; Ken Osborne, SJU assistant
director of accounting, Business Office; and Jeff
Wubbels, SJU events coordinator, Dining Service.
New Steering Committee members were
announced and out-going members were recog-nized
for their service. New members are: Sarah
Pruett, ESL coordinator, modern and classical lan-guages;
Carol Marrin, project director, Saint John’s
Bible Project; and John Geissler, assistant director,
Saint John’s Arboretum. Outgoing members are
Burdette Miller-Lehn, associate director for media
Campus News
Body of Clay, Soul of Fire
Receives Publishers Award
Body of Clay, Soul of Fire:
Richard Bresnahan and the Saint
John’s Pottery was recently awarded
first place in the Art/Photo/Coffee
Table category at the Midwest
Independent Publishers Association
awards program. The Midwest
Independent Publishers Association
serves the upper-Midwest publishing
community in a collaboration of pub-lishing,
production, promotion and
marketing information.
Body of Clay is the story of
Richard Bresnahan, artist-in-resi-dence
at SJU and director of the
Saint John’s Pottery program. The
author of the book is Dr. Matthew
Welch, curator of Japanese and
Korean Art at The Minneapolis
Institute of Arts; the designer was
Barbara J. Arney and the publisher
was the Afton Historical Society
Press in Afton, Minn.
Body of Clay accompanies a trav-eling
exhibition of Bresnahan’s and
his apprentices’ work that opened at
SJU in December 2001 and contin-ues
to tour museums in Minnesota,
the Dakotas and Wisconsin.
CSB 5 SJU
Peter Froehle (right) and
Jason Kelly.
services, SJU Media Center; Pam Kotzenmacher,
assistant director of accounting, SJU Business
Office; and Jason Kelly, management and academic
advising, CSB/SJU Academic Advising.
Facalty/Staff News
Kathleen A. Ohman, professor of nursing,
recently attained CCRN certification after success-fully
completing the nationally recognized examina-tion.
CCRN certification is one of the most advanced
professional credentials that can be achieved by a
nurse in the field of critical care. As a result, the
CCRN designation is highly regarded as recognition
of advanced knowledge and clinical expertise in the
care of critically ill patients and their families. Most
importantly, the CCRN credential signals that these
individuals have been acknowledged by their peers
as being among the very best in the critical care
nursing profession. There are currently 45,000
neonatal, pediatric and adult CCRN-certified nurses
practicing worldwide.
Vilma Chiu-Walter, instructor of modern and
classical languages, presented a paper at the XXIII
International Conference of the Poetics and
Linguistics Association in Istanbul, Turkey, on June
23. Her paper was titled “Linguistic Environmental
Considerations in Second Language Acquisition:
Natural vs. Formal Environment.” The synopsis of
the paper has been published in the PALA 2003
Book of Abstracts.
Jon McGee, CSB/SJU vice president for institu-tional
planning, research and communication, has
joined the Board of Directors for the Collaboration
for the Advancement of College Teaching and
Learning, a regional membership organization that
supports and promotes outstanding college teach-ing
at public, private, and tribally-affiliated colleges
and universities. The Collaboration offers programs
and services that provide professional support for
those who want to enhance student learning
through involvement in an inter-institutional and
interdisciplinary community of peers; identify
trends and issues that affect student learning and
prepare faculty and staff to meet them; identify, dis-seminate
and foster approaches to teaching, learn-ing
and faculty development; and engage members
of the academic community in the collaborative,
scholarly examination of their practice. Rita
Knuesel, CSB dean of the college, also serves on
the board.
Fr. Anthony Ruff, OSB, assistant professor of
theology, translated several Gregorian chant texts
from Latin to English for a CD booklet released in
Austria, “Bearing Fruit,” sung by members of Zwettl
monastery and the chant schola of the Hofburg (for-mer
royal palace) in Vienna.
Mark Conway, director of the CSB Literary Arts
Institute and Project Logos, was a final judge for the
Minnesota State Arts Board Fellowship program for
poetry in April. The MSAB Fellowship program is
designed to recognize, reward and encourage out-standing
individual artists. Twelve-month fellow-ships
are awarded to provide time, materials and liv-ing
expenses for artists working in the visual, liter-ary
and performing arts.
Louis Johnston, assistant professor of econom-ics,
is the author of three articles published in The
Oxford Encyclopedia of Economic History. They
are “Balance of Payments”; “James J. Hill”; and
“National Income Accounts: Exports and Imports.”
Ronald M. Bosrock, Professor/Myers Chair in
Management, gave an address on Aug. 8, before the
Minneapolis Rotary Club on the “Issue of
International Trade and New Competition.”
Gina Wolfe, associate professor of theology and
director, Vocation Project, has been named to the
Board of Directors of the United States Catholic
China Bureau (UCCB) for a three-year term. The
UCCB works to promote understanding of
Catholics and other religious believers in China,
seeking to re-engage the U.S. Catholic Church in a
new missionary partnership with the Catholic
Church in China.
The 2002 SJU football game program has
received top honors in publications. The program
covers for 2002 were listed as best in NCAA
Division III and the program was judged second-best
in NCAA Division III. The awards were
announced at the College Sports Information
Directors of America (CoSIDA) annual workshop
held this summer in Cleveland.
All SJU athletic game programs are a collective
effort among Michael Hemmesch, SJU director of
communication and sports information director,
Communication and Marketing Services; and Tom
Stock, director of athletic marketing/merchandiz-ing,
and John Biasi, advancement Web/publica-tions
designer, Institutional Advancement.
Campus News
The Welcome Mat
We welcome the following faculty
and staff to the CSB/SJU communi-ty:
Gary Feldhege, Liturgical Press
John Mathews, Admission
Andrea Terhaar, Admission
Rachel Wolinski, Philosophy
Nancy Tong, Institutional
Advancement
Carole Coleman, Business
Office
Kate Hand, Athletics
Jennifer Schwichtenberg, Library
Janelle Sietsema, Library
Ann Belanger, Food Service
Dave Laliberte, Athletics
Lynn Mueller, Student
Development
Farewell to Friends
Doris Frey, Development
Jill Holbrook, Vocation Project
Margaret Derksen, Development
Kate Kamakahi, Student
Development
Stacy Wiener, Food Service
Jeff Bretherton, Institutional
Advancement
Linda Rhode, Health Center
Stephen Burmeister-May,
International Education
Shobha Deshmukh,
Mathematics
Gaynor Claire Haeg, Political
Science
Samuel Hull Jr., Theater
Marian Johnson, Education
Gerald Lenz, Mathematics
Abigail Meyer, Biology
Christina Prom, Psychology
Christopher Ruddy, Theology
Robert Wilde, Art
Angela Wood, Admission
Kelly Kierzek, Dining Service
Natasha Thiede, Fine Arts
Michael Dreher, Life Safety
Alexander Collen, Life Safety
Katina Bruggman, Theology
Chris Thompson, Campus
Ministry
Jeffrey Hutson, OSB, Library
Christian Breczinski, Arboretum
Gael Fonken, Health Center
CSB 6 SJU
(Bosnia, continued from front page)
spoke fondly of long conversations the group had
with Rambo and their interpreter as those two con-sumed
massive quantities of coffee and cigarettes.
The group had bestowed the nickname Rambo
based on his war-time experiences. An ex-patriot,
he had returned home to join the Special Forces to
defend Sarajevo during the siege.
During one leisurely dinner, “fueled by alcohol,
everybody relaxed and told jokes and stories”
Herzfeld noted. And there was singing. She recalled
the joy of singing a pop tune with the translator.
Political science professor Manju Parikh remem-bers
a vivid moment in a quiet pasture, sheltered by
forested hills, as the point when she found common
ground with the group’s Muslim driver and inter-preter
and also felt the full import of the tragedy in
the Balkans. “We went to Srebrenica to see a mon-ument,
still in construction, for the thousands of
innocent victims of the war,” she said. “We stopped
in this beautiful little pasture, surrounded by hills
and forests — so peaceful and green. But then you
begin to notice little wooden sticks, markers of
some sort, and you wonder what they are. Suddenly
it occurs to you that each stick is a marker for a
grave.” The forested hills were where Muslim men
ran to hide and were hunted down and killed,
Parikh explained. Through DNA testing the bodies
are being identified and given proper burial in this
green place. “I began to weep, and the driver and
interpreter understood my grief.”
Parikh found this juxtaposition of so much tragedy
with such great beauty to be particularly moving and
a common experience in the Balkans, where whole
villages and house after house were destroyed amidst
the overarching natural beauty of the region.
“It is an incredibly beautiful place,” Parikh said,
“with rocky terrain, virgin forests, hidden valleys
and absolutely deep blue rivers.”
At the same time, the former Yugoslavia’s cities are
sophisticated, urbane cultural centers, Parikh said,
wishing to dispel any image Americans may have of the
place as savage and backwards. “The Russians used to
call Belgrade the “Paris of the East.” It’s a beautiful city,
Campus News
Liturgical Press Earns Awards
from Catholic Press Association
The Liturgical Press won five
first-place awards at the Catholic
Press Association’s annual con-vention
in Atlanta. The awards
were received in pastoral ministry,
professional books, direct mail pro-motion,
best feature story in prayer
and spirituality magazines for The
Bible Today and best essay in reli-gious
order magazines for The
Abbey Banner.
The Liturgical Press also
received second-place awards in
pastoral ministry, professional
books, Spanish language titles, ref-erence
books, general catalog and
best Web site; third-place awards
in theology, liturgy, reference books
and direct mail promotion; and hon-orable
mentions in spirituality and
theology; general excellence for
prayer and spirituality magazines
for The Bible Today; and general
excellence for religious order mag-azines
for The Abbey Banner.
CSB 7 SJU
Off to a Good Start: Laughter is the Best Medicine
by Norma, Dickau, public services librarian, CSB/SJU Libraries
Editor’s note: Each month, the Healthy Learning Community and the Partners for Healthy Learning
promote a health theme to the CSB and SJU campuses. These groups are involved in the promotion of
physical, intellectual, emotional, social, occupational and spiritual health.
Have a hearty laugh. That is the perfect way to
start a semester. First of all it’s a new beginning,
and there is the excitement of meeting a whole
bunch of fresh, eager students — not to mention
hearing of the summer adventures of our returning
students. It always causes us to smile and greet
them warmly. From that warm greeting it is not a
long jump to laughter. Stop and listen to the waves
of laughter that are a part of Benedictine hospitali-ty
heard all around the campuses.
Laughter is a very good thing for our students,
and also very healthy for the rest of us. Let’s look at
the ways a simple laugh benefits us. First of all,
physiologically, it gives us a grand workout. One
study indicates that a single minute of hearty laugh-ter
gives the same aerobic benefits as fifteen min-utes
on a rowing machine! Laughing is sometimes
referred to as “internal jogging” and gives a gentle
massage to our internal organs. Further, the cardio-vascular
system is stimulated during laughter, and
while the blood pressure and heart rates go up tem-porarily,
this is followed by relaxation and vasodi-latation,
which lowers our blood pressure numbers.
Stress reduction is another real benefit. We all
know that laughter can ease tension in interperson-al
relations, but it can also help us relax as well. As
the laughter expands blood vessels, it increases
blood flow to tense muscles in our bodies, and that
aids the relaxation process. Finally, it gives a boost
to our immune system. After hearty laughter,
immunoglobulin A is found in increased levels in
our saliva.
Ideas to help us laugh more:
● Be alert to funny situations; make it important
to find humor every day and share it.
● Save some of the good jokes that come via e-mail
in a folder called “Humor Research.”
● Have a “Mirthday” party, where all participants
share a good laugh.
● Try laughing out loud for no reason. I have
been practicing, and I can go on for about three
minutes. It’s much more fun than that rowing
machine!
● Several good reads on the subject are: Humor
and the Health Professions, The Therapeutic Use
of Humor in Health Care by Vera M. Robinson, and
Laugh For No Reason by Madan Kataria (who start-ed
Laughter Clubs in India which are now world-wide.)
● For more information contact ndickau@
csbsju.edu, or go to www.worldlaughtertour.com
(“Think globally, laugh locally.”)
very European, with wonderful cultural offerings, bou-tiques,
cafes, department stores and bookstores of the
caliber you’d find in New York or Los Angeles.”
The contrast between this sophisticated culture
and the violence that erupted there is puzzling, said
Jim Read, also a political science professor. “As a
political theorist, I am interested in how something
like this could happen in such a place.” It was a soci-ety
in which Bosnians, Serbs and Croats — Muslims
and Christians — were able to live and work together,
were friends and intermarried. “Then it all came apart
very quickly to the point that people were just slaugh-tering
members of other groups, or driving them out
and destroying their houses. It was not a war between
armies, but a war between populations.”
Parikh thinks the region’s leaders capitalized on
post-Cold War political and economic uncertainties
by using nationalist feelings to undermine what har-mony
existed among the various populations in
Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. “And of course, there
were some gripes from the past that they could res-urrect,”
she said, adding that, even so, many citizens
of the region were opposed to what was happening.
“However, I have to say, when we asked people
there why they thought it had happened,” Read said,
“they themselves seemed kind of puzzled by it all.”
For Christina Tourino, assistant professor of
English, the experience challenged what she
described as her uniquely American sense of eth-nicity
and citizenship. “Americans tend to believe
that citizenship is something that can be acquired
through conversion. In our nation’s history, it’s been
possible to come here, either willingly or against
your will, learn another language, pledge your alle-giance
to the flag, become a citizen and your nation-ality
is American.” But in the former Yugoslavia,
there are three different groups of people who look
similar and speak roughly the same language, “real-ly
three different dialects of the same language,”
Tourino said. “But you can get into trouble with
someone depending on how you order a cup of cof-fee.”
The Bosnian, Croatian or Serbian nationalist
identity is tied to place, language differences, reli-gion
and other factors that seem to be absolute,
Tournino said. “National identity is tied to a concept
of difference, rather than agreed-upon shared val-ues
and vision,” she explained.
Like her colleagues, Tourino found tremendous
utility in actually visiting the region in order to vis-cerally
understand such fine lines of demarcation
between people and politics. Read and Parikh both
teach classes and symposia on the nature of war
and peace and will have a better understanding of
what happened in this particular instance and will
look for the universal experiences of war, reconcili-ation
and nation-building that can be applied to the
experiences of others wars and other peoples.
Tourino’s focus in research and teaching is mainly
the literature of unheard voices, multi-ethnic
CSB 8 SJU
COMMUNITY
Community is published by the
CSB/SJU Communication and
Marketing Services staff:
Jon McGee, Vice President for
Institutional Planning, Research
and Communication
Greg Hoye, Executive Director
of Communication and Marketing
Services
Julie Marthaler, Office
Coordinator (CSB)
Viv Krueger, Office
Coordinator (SJU)
Mike Durbin, Sports
Information Director (CSB)
Michael Hemmesch,
SJU Director of Communication
Jo Ann Shroyer,
CSB Director of Communication
Glenda Isaacs Burgeson,
Assistant Director of
Communication/Community Editor
Tammy Hansen, Assistant
Director of Communication/
Electronic and Print Media
Greg Becker, Senior Associate
Director of Publications
and Graphic Services
Kay L. Buytaert, Associate
Director of Publications
and Graphic Services
Ron Schoonover, Assistant
Director of Publications
and Graphic Services
Kathy Wenker ’04,
Community Student Coordinator
Deadline for the
September issue is August
22. To share your infor-mation
and story ideas,
simply e-mail them directly
to Community at:
community@csbsju.edu.
expression in the U.S. and Latin America, particu-larly
literature arising from cultural crisis.
“Truthfully, my mind had worn a groove in this
regard and I went on the trip to try and get my mind to
jump its tracks,” Tourino said. “And it sure worked.”
Read came away from the experience impressed
with the people who escaped the bloodshed and
have chosen to return to their homeland to help put
it back together again. “These are courageous, com-mitted
people who, having been driven out, are
coming back from living in the United States or
Canada or some other place where they have been
living safely to try and rebuild their homeland,”
Read said. “I think there’s something to be learned
both from what went wrong and the efforts to piece
it back together again.”
For Hayes, the visit was a return to familiar people
and places. He has reported extensively from the area
for the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and
Minnesota Public Radio. In 1994-95, as a Fulbright
Fellow in Journalism, he was based in Zagreb, Croatia,
filing reports on the war in the former Yugoslavia.
“I was asked to arrange the trip, and I was
delighted to do so,” he said. “For 20 years, I have
had an obsessive personal and professional fascina-tion
with the area.”
Based on this recent visit, he has filed a report
for airing on the PBS program, “NewsHour with Jim
Lehrer.”
What compels his attention, he said, aside from
the area’s absorbing beauty is a dreadful combina-tion
of human dignity and abominable behavior. He
returns to the area in search of answers to universal
questions: “I am forever puzzled how people can
commit such atrocities.”
Prior to this trip, Hayes last visited the area in May-
June of 2001. This time, he said he “went with cyni-cism
but that tempered a bit. The process underway
gives grounds for more hope than I had thought.”
Politically, the area has stabilized, he said, and
power is shifting into better hands. He worries,
however, about repercussions associated with what
he calls the “economic meltdown.”
“That’s my nightmare and immediate concern
because of the corruption it fosters. Bosnia is a
major source in illegal arms trafficking and the
human sex industry is deeply troubling,” he said.
Still, he believes the economy will recover, and
that, once the American troops withdraw, the
European community will maintain security.
As for the lessons he will bring to the classroom,
Hayes said he wants his students to consider the
ethical question of how ordinary people can commit
extraordinary crimes of genocide. Also, he will chal-lenge
them to consider the responsibility of the
United States to intervene.
Long term, he believes the area offers opportuni-ties
for service learning and ecumenical dialog.